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Once more, sorry-- I went spectacularly over the word-count. (sigh) I combined the cat theme with a Dorian theme but could not figure how to get Og into all this as well. Sorry, Og.

Catatonic

It had started as a stand-off.

The cat hissed and Avon growled. And when Soolin went to investigate the source of the angry noises, she quickly found herself shifting from amusement to amazement, and finally to concerned bewilderment.

"One of us is leaving this chamber and it won't be me," declared Avon dangerously when he became aware that Soolin was standing in the open doorway of the cabin. She thought he had been referring to her, but then saw the crouching, furious form of the cat on the bed. Soolin was certain that the snarling feline was expressing the exact same sentiment.

She grinned, relieved. "Oh, that's where Bast has been all this time!"

"Why is this creature even here?" Avon demanded. "And it has a name--?"

"Oh, Dorian called her Bast. Said it was the name of a goddess or something..."

"Dorian kept a cat?"

"No, he barely tolerated her. She just showed up on board and we thought she had stowed away on the Scorpio somewhere around Sirius Five. Dorian couldn't catch her so he just gave up and let her have the run of the ship. I think having a ship's cat amused him, to be honest, as if we were on an old Terran sea vessel. Dorian was kind of an idiot for historical romance like that. Kind of an idiot all around, in fact." Soolin looked sourly to the side at the memory of her former lover, but turned a quick grin in the direction of the cat. "And Bast's a mean thing, won't let anyone touch her. I like that. I think she's decided this is her room."

"Well, it most certainly is not," Avon said. "This is MY room now." He swaggered toward Bast again, all imposing black leather and studs, but Bast was having no part of it. She turned to the side and arched her back to increase her size. Then she swatted at him.

Avon backed away in consternation. "While I admire her tenacity, I do not want a roommate."

"And apparently neither does she."

The two enemies glowered at one another until Avon finally pulled on one of his studded gloves. "Right, that's it." Lunging, he grabbed the hissing, spitting feline by the scruff of its neck, carried it to the door and tossed it unceremoniously into the corridor. He pressed the button to close the chamber door but, in an instant, the cat had spun around in the corridor and shot back inside.

...Only she did not get completely inside because the door jammed firmly on her tail.

There erupted a boisterous and piteous caterwauling that even managed to summon Vila from wherever he had been drowning himself in Soma. "What in all hell is going on in there?" he cried from the corridor outside the door. "Oi, Avon! When did you get a cat?"

He was trying to manually open the door and Soolin, distressed by the cat's cries of pain but wondering why Avon did not do this simple thing, pressed the button and the door slid open with ease. The cat, its tail bleeding, tried to run to safety but Avon suddenly scooped her up in his arms, gasping in a voice suddenly full of atypical concern: "Oh, her poor tail! She needs help--someone get Cally, quick!"

And then Soolin was astonished to see his face freeze into a sudden, peculiar blankness.

Arms still full of wounded cat, he slumped down on the bed, staring straight ahead. Soolin, still bewildered, took the now oddly calm Bast from him. Vila arrived shortly with bandages and antiseptic and revealed himself to be unusually adept at veterinary care .

"Ah, there's a good kitty," the thief cooed as he delicately bandaged the injured tail. "That's not so bad. You'll be right as rain now. Can't tell you how many times I've gotten stuck in between doors myself. Once I even got pinned between a sofa and a--"

The cat, apparently not interested in hearing the end of Vila's story, leaped out of his arms and crawled underneath the bed where Avon still sat, catatonic. Soolin looked at the silent seated figure in confusion and turned to the thief. "Who's Cally?" she asked, but Vila carefully ushered her out, leaving man and cat alone in the room.

***
The next sound Avon heard in the dark silent room was his own voice whispering over and over: "Cally, I'm so sorry. It was all my fault. I lost the Liberator. I'm so sorry."

He came out of his stupor only when he became aware of a low thrumming noise. He looked down in numbed surprise at the brown cat with the bandaged tail curled up in his lap. Bast rubbed her soft cheek against his hands until she finally convinced his fingers to stroke her matted fur. Avon said absently, "You really could use a good brushing. Not to mention a bath."

And Bast, who had been on the run all her life and had stowed away aboard a number of starships throughout the galaxy, purred with contentment.

This was how Avon came to have a roommate aboard the Scorpio. And Bast even allowed him to sleep in her bed.

***
Postscript:
Bast the Cat survived the crash of the Scorpio and became an outlaw rodent hunter on Gauda Prime.
Edited by Rainesz on 31 October 2016 20:06:39

None of the others ever admitted to bringing the cat on board, but Avon had his suspicions. Vila named her Lucky and spent a ridiculous amount of time coaxing her to play. She soundly ignored him, causing Avon to revise upward his estimation of her intelligence. Appearing needy was a poor strategy in negotiations as it gave all the power to the other party. Remaining aloof allowed one to remain dignified regardless of the outcome. Anyone of intelligence knew this, Avon reflected as he stroked a contentedly purring Lucky.

@Anniew: Don’t worry about the ‘cheating’; you didn’t mention a cat in your poem, but you described the mood perfectly. These thoughts might be exactly what runs through Avon’s head in the picture! And to balance this cat-free cat fiction, there is a whole cat show in your story! Avon’s karmic encounter with a cat that might be Blake re-incarnated is a fascinating and very original idea.

@LS: Aww, that was lovely; funny in parts, melancholic in others, and giving intersting insight into our heroes.

@Raine: What a wonderful story; especially Avon mentioning Cally as if she were still alive. I know that feeling. And the tenacity of the cat is also very realistic. (Shades of Mifune? ) Even my sister who was never very fond of pets gradually surrendered to the 'charm offensive' of a stray tomcat!

@Clare: Any chance of a continuation of the adventures of Avon & Binx? Just a pity that I haven’t seen Hocus Pocus. Now I have the slightly disturbing urge to imagine a B7 episode guest-starring the Divine Mrs M.!

@Ellen: Good to have you back – I was already missing your lovely vignettes. Great observations of human and feline behaviour, deftly put in a nutshell. I am always amazed how much you can say with so few words!

And thank you for your nice comments on my story; although I have to admit that the 'thouroughly thought out psychology' was inspried by a Gaston comic-strip by André Franquin!